Independence fighters in Indonesia’s Papua region have released videos and photos of a New Zealand pilot they are holding hostage, declaring them proof that he is still alive and well.
Key points:
- New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens was taken hostage by West Papuan rebels last week after he landed a plane at a remote airstrip
- The Free Papua Organisation says it will not release him until Indonesia grants independence to the Papua provinces
- Videos and photos of Mr Mehrtens were released to prove he is alive and well
The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) seized Captain Philip Mehrtens on Tuesday last week, after he landed a small passenger plane at Paro village in the remote highlands of Papua province.
The rebel group stormed the Susi Air plane after it landed, and took the pilot hostage before setting the plane alight.
The five passengers were all locals and later released.
The rebel group – which is the armed wing of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) – has vowed to not release the pilot until Indonesia grants independence to its Papua provinces, which make up the western half of New Guinea island.
They are holding the pilot at a remote location, where his captors reportedly took the photos and videos of him as “proof of life”.
Mr Mehrtens was filmed in a scrubby area, standing alongside a group of at least ten rebels, several of whom are holding rifles.
The Morning Star flag – a symbol of the Papuan independence cause – was hoisted alongside.
The pilot was recorded on camera calling on Indonesia to acknowledge the group’s sovereignty over Papua.
“Indonesia needs to recognise Papua’s independence,” he says in one video.
In another video he addresses the camera in the Indonesian language.
“Papua dan OPM ditangkap saya untuk Papua Merdeka,” he says.
“The Papuan military have taken me captive in their fight for Papuan independence.”
In several photos he appears to show solidarity for the rebels’ cause, raising his fist in unison with his captors.
Mr Mehrtens – from Christchurch – was dressed in shorts and a denim jacket, with a bush hat on his head and in another photo he is shown wearing a cap and trousers.
It is not known when the videos were recorded.
In a separate video the rebels’ leader Egianus Kogoya is shown inside the Susi Air plane, presumably before it was set alight, where he defended the group’s actions and again demanded independence from Indonesia.
“We’re taking the pilot hostage, not for anything else, but for Papua’s freedom,” he said.
Kogoya’s rebels also took 15 construction workers hostage the next day and threatened to kill them, but Indonesian security forces managed to rescue them.
It was Kogoya’s same group that claimed responsibility for the slaughter of about 20 road workers at Nduga in late 2018. He remains one of the most hunted rebels in Papua.
This is the second time the TPNPB has taken a hostage.
In 1996 rebels kept 11 hostages (from an original 26) for more than four months, including four Britons and two from the Netherlands.
Two of the Indonesian hostages were eventually killed when Indonesian security forces mounted a rescue operation. Nine were freed.
An Indonesian military spokesman told the ABC this week that security forces were still trying to establish the New Zealand pilot’s exact location, before attempting to rescue him.
New Zealand says it is working with the Indonesian government and other agencies to try to free Mr Mehrtens.
“The welfare of the New Zealander at the heart of this incident is our top priority,” the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the ABC.
“The family has asked for privacy at this incredibly challenging time.”
Violence between Papuan separatist groups and Indonesian security forces has escalated in recent months.
Indonesia’s Papuan provinces were under Dutch control until the 1960s, and then incorporated into Indonesia after a United Nations sponsored vote that many Papuans say was a sham.
A low-level insurgency has festered ever since.